For some reason my “Birding Year 2016” has got off to a slow start. Little Photography so far this year, primarily due to the really poor weather, with endless rain and grey skies. The last two weekends have been dreadful and despite taking out my cameras, so far they have never been removed from the bag.
So, this post is really an update from 1st January to the 10th January 2016, playing catch-up on my first few birding adventures of 2016. The note book is fairly uneventful at this time. On the 1st January I paid a visit to a favourite location of mine, Eyebrook Reservoir and also Rutland Water, both these sites are in Leicestershire. I first visited Eyebrook in 1967, when I saw my very first Goldeneye, Goosander and Bewick’s Swan. Recently there had been a few decent birds around these two waters including Smew, at Eyebrook and two rare grebes at Rutland, Red-necked Grebe and Black-necked Grebe. A really good bonus bird was a Bonxie (Great Skua) sat on the water off the Hambleton Peninsular at Rutland. This was to be my first inland Bonxie. Other good birds during the day were Pintail, Scaup, Goosander, Red Kite, Peregrine and Little Egret. So I got may new year list off to 63 species.
On the 2nd January 2016 I found myself visiting Tetney Marshes in Lincolnshire. What a place to find and what a disappointment. Glyn & I walked miles for what turned out to be very little, apart from 2 Water Pipit, 10 Twite, a male Stonechat and numerous Grey Partridge, Golden Plover and Brent Goose. Year List moved on to 74 species.
During 3rd – 10th January I made various trips to my local patch at Staunton Harold and a visit to the large congregation of gulls around Rufforth Airfield in North Yorkshire, has helped to move my year list onto 82 species. A 1st winter Glaucous Gull, and adult and 3rd winter Iceland Gull and 4 x 1st winter & 1 x 2nd winter Caspian Gull were all seen at Rufforth on the 9th January. My local patch list is currently on 39 species.
